This picture of beads works much more effectively than the other one because of the context given to them by the way the hands hold them, the character of the hands, with those prominent veins, and most of all by the mysterious abstracted robed figure. As I remember this picture, those robes are deep red, which gave the image a very spiritual feeling. Now the robes are deep grays and black, much more somber and haunting. It is almost as if we are looking a metaphorical figure of death. The grim reaper himself. Only instead of a scythe, it grasps these beads. Scary stuff, and very effective.
